We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand! It was so weird to think that we were in another country, but it didn't really feel like we had left the US. The first thing that we did was take a very long bus ride to get to Rotorua. I wanted to sleep so bad, but I didn't want to miss anything. Everything was so pretty and green. New Zealand is beautiful. We also saw a lot of cows and sheep along the way. :)Today I experienced a few culture shocks. One shock that I experienced was that there was so much farm land. I was almost everywhere and there were so many cows and sheep. It was all so green there were so many hills. I was definitely surprised by the amount of farm area. Another shock that I had was that in New Zealand they drive on the left side of the road. It was so weird because I was used to the driving on the right. It is strange that in most parts of the world people drive on the left, but in America we drive on the right. It was a little scary because I usually looked the wrong way before crossing a street. The last shock that I experienced was that in New Zealand they had a lot more dedicated to their native people. In America I feel like our natives are just cast aside, but they had a lot of Maori culture there. It was really cool to see that and a lot of their history is really interesting.
For lunch we stopped in Hobbiton. It was so much fun. I am a Lord of the Rings fan and it was so cool to see a smegol statue and to see all the landscape. I stopped in a little cafe/bakery with some of my friends. We were so confused. We didn't know if we served ourselves or where to pay. It was a little embarrassing, but we figured it out eventually. All three of us ended up getting New Zealand pies. They are like portable pot pies. I got a chicken one and it was really good.  |
| Part of Luge course |
We went to a luge place today. It was so much fun. We went up a mountain in a gondola, the view was spectacular and the weather was perfect. It was not too hot and not too cold. Then we got to go down the mountain on these little carts. You sit in it and then you would pull back on the handle bars to slow it down and push forward to go faster. I had so much fun doing that. There was a lot to see going down the mountain, but I mostly concentrated on not crashing. There were a few people who got scrapes and bruises doing this. Once down the mountain you go on a lift back to the top. I ended up doing only the beginner course, but it was fun.
After the luge we all went to a jade place. There we got to learn about where and how they get their jade. We also got to see the steps required to shape the stone into jewelry. It was really neat. We got to look around the jade store after the presentation was over. There was a lot of beautiful carvings and jewelry there.
When we were done at the jade store we went to our hotel. It is nice because it is right next to the lake, but it smells awful. The sulfur makes it smell like rotten eggs. I hope that I will get used to the smell. After checking in at the hotel we walk to a burger place that had a pizza hut next door. Some people went to the pizza hut, but I went to the burger place. It was called Burger fuel. Their burgers are soooo good. They were delicious and they were massive. Yum.
So we got off to a good start in New Zealand. I am really looking forward to seeing the ogoing and the Maori village. I can't wait.
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